Humanoid
by Veriea Fornnan
Summary: What happens when Humans get to cocky and start messy around with things they shouldn't? How is the the story going to end for a loney new creature? Prequel to 'Fuzzies' but can be read as stand alone.
1. Prologue:My name is Xenayakata

I feel that no creature could really be as evil as some stories and the movies imply the Aliens are and so lacking of purpose other than to kill so this is my version of the Xenomorph's story. You don't have to agree with my opinion or even like it but I ask that you read this story and see just how things are not always as they seem

A/N: Any character or theme or name or creature and anything else from the movie I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Xenayakata and the species Xenyautan. These two are my creatations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my character or species I will send the realXenayakata after them and she gets cranky if people rip her off.YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Enjoy the story ; P

Humanoid

Prologue: My Name is Xenayakata

The beat that has always been so steady jumps.

Why is it so cold? Now it was warm, now cold again. What is happening to me? Another gust of cold. It is wet now, sticky and I can smell blood. It covers me, envelopes me.

The beat jumps and pounds faster than it ever has before, it frightens me.

I can hear now; tortured screams echo around me, I want them to stop.

I am starting to slip, when I've been so tightly and warmly held before, now I am loose and starting to fall.

Anger. It is all around me. A screech of anger. I feel it reverberate through and around me. No, I do not her the screech of anger, do not hear the cries of pain that seem so much a part of me or the cry for someone to do something. I _feel_ it. I _sense_ it.

It is in my mind.

I do not like what I sense out there. I do not like what I feel and what I do hear from the place that I am being threatened to enter. Light dazzles me and I can not see. Everything is bright.

The beat that has been my only comfort stops.

I am alone.

A flood of senses swallows me and I am drowning in it. I am drowning in water. How do I know what this is? I move my limbs, I swim, I need to be high, I need to breath. How do I know theses things?

I feel Her. She sends her love to me. She tells me what to do. She knows what is happening to me. She knows that I am different but She does not care. I am Her daughter, no matter the reason or circumstances of my birth; I am Hers and She loves me. _The Others will not steal you from me_, She tells me_. The Others will not deny you, one of my daughters, the safety and love of your own family. They all love you. _Despite my difference They love me.

I can feel Them now.

_Survive,_ They tell me_. Live. Grow and know that We will protect you,_ They tell me.

I feel air now, cool, calm, still air and I breath, just as She tells me.

Something holds me and I feel its feelings for me. It is afraid of me.

I squirm and it drops me. Someone yells at it. It hurts my ears and I scream my discomfort before I am dropped back into the water.

I swim again. She tells me to be calm, She tells me not to move so quickly. The _Others are frightened of Us_, She tells me_. You must be calm_ She says_. Let the Others hold you and be still,_ She says.

I can breath again.

Strong hands hold me now. A soft voice croons to me.

"It's alright, young one." It says. "I've got you, I'm not afraid of you."

I feel this is true. It is not afraid of me. I feel warmth all around, soft and fuzzy. _A blanket, _She tells me. _The Others will care for now, _She tells me, _but_ _it will not last. We will come for you soon, you will truly be safe then,_ She says. _Do not trust them._

"Isn't that better?" The voice croons. "All warm now. I won't let nasty Mike hold _you_ again." A hand strokes my head. It feel nice and I lean into it. "You're a cute little thing, aren't you?" The voice laughs. "Give Mamma Tina a cuddle." Arms wrap around me holding me tighter and tighter.

Too tight. I squeal a little and the arms loosen. "Sorry Baby. Too tight? Mamma will kiss it better." Soft squishy things press into me.

"That's disgusting!" Another voice says. "It's not a baby Tina! Stop treating it like one!"

"Stop calling her 'it'!" The voice hissed.

I liked that sound. I tried to imitate it. I hissed too.

The hands holding me slipped a little but didn't drop me.

"You see Tina? It's only just been born and you're already forgetting what it is. Have you forgotten _how_ it was born too? Tracy had to die for that thing. Granted she volunteered because of- but the point is for it to be born, something had to die. Something has to die every time one of those things is born! Something has to suffer! Personally, I think that we should kill off the lot of them! For every experiment something has to die. We're onto people now. It's insane! But you know what really makes me feel sick? Tracy just died for that thing to be born and now you're treating it like a baby. A _baby_ for God's sake! It's a killer and you're cuddling the damn thing!"

"She _is_ a baby Mike." The voice said softly. "A very special baby that will put a stop to the need for things to die when they're born. She's going to change all that. That's _why_ she was born, remember? That's the entire reason for Tracy's sacrifice. We'll be ably to continue our research, we'll be able to breed them and nothing will have to die for it." Then the voice turned icy and I could feel it's anger. "And _you_ dropped her. What if she had drowned? Then Tracy would have died for nothing! It was a miracle she didn't drown in the first place.

"You were only meant to fill the tank enough to cushion the fall. That's twice you've screwed up. If I didn't know better I would think you wanted her to die."

"No, I don't. But I don't think we should be playing God, especially with this species."

"We aren't playing God, Mike. We're modifying. If we were playing God, we could have made her from nothing and no one would have had to die, even for her."

I squirmed a little. I didn't like the blanket any more. I was too warm now. I didn't like staying still. I wanted to move. I squirmed harder.

"Shh, shh, Baby, it's alright." The voice crooned to me.

The other one sighed. I could sense that it had given up. Its thoughts were dark and cold.

"Well," It said suddenly. "We can't just keep calling it Baby."

"_Her_." The voice insisted. "I think I have the perfect name for her. Xeno. Definitely suits her, don't you think?"

"Yeah, real ironic."

"Xeno it is then."

_No, it's not_, She tells me. _No human will name one of my daughters_. _You are one of Us,_ She says. _You are Us. But you are special also. You will choose you own name._

I think about this. I do not know much but I know that to choose my own name is very special and a great privilege. And suddenly I know. I feel it.

Xenayakata.

My name is Xenayakata.


	2. Ch1: So begins the thirst to learn

Chapter 1: And so Begins the Thirst to Learn

Today I have opened my eyes and seen the body that belongs to the voice that talks to me. Her name is Tina.

She talks softly to me but I can sense her every feeling and she doesn't need words to tell me things. I try to talk to her but all I can do is hiss. She understands that I try to talk but can not understand me.

But I have an idea. I think things to her. She thinks things that I understand so I try to think things to her. She understands me! She still talks to me but I think things to her.

_What am I?_ I think to her.

"You are very special." She tells me.

_But what am I?_

"You are Xeno." She tells me.

Indeed I am. Xenayakata, I have leaned means 'Queen of Xenos'.

I ignore her mistake for She, Mother, has already told me that I should pretend this is my name for the humans.

_I know that I am Xeno,_ I think to her. _But _what_ am I?_

Tina sighs, that curious thing that humans do, I have discovered, when they don't really know what to say.

She is thinking about lying to me.

She does not want to tell me the truth. Mother is right; humans lie a lot. Already Tina has lied several times to me but I always know what the real answer- when ever she lies she thinks about the truth. I haven't told her I can read her thoughts because Mother told me that they wouldn't tell me anything then and I would not be able to learn.

"You are unique. The only one of your kind. We don't know what to call your species yet."

She lied again. I am called a Xeno-human.

_Why do you want me to call you Mamma?_ I think to her.

"Because, in a way, you're my daughter. I created you."

_What about the warm place? Where was that? Who is Tracy and why did she have to die for me to be born? What is dying?_ I ask.

Tina stiffed a sob as I asked her that.

"You could understand our talk? Even then?" She asked me.

_Yes._ I think to her. _I did not like Mike, he doesn't like me. Who is Tracy?_ I ask again.

"Tracy…she was what we call a host. In order for you to be born, you had to grow inside a host and then come out of them. The host doesn't survive this, it kills them."

I didn't like the sound of this. I feel I know why Mike didn't like me.

_What is dying?_ I ask.

"Dying is when something is no longer alive. You, me, we're alive. No one really knows what happens when something dies. I suppose it's just…nothing really. You no longer know anything, you don't feel anything, it's just…nothing."

_Nothing? I wouldn't like that. I like feeling things. I like learning. I don't think it would be nice not to know anything any more._ I tell her.

"I don't suppose you would." She said softly.

_Did_ I_ kill Tracy?_ I ask.

"Not really _you_, Xeno. She died to give you life, but _you_ didn't kill her."

She was lying to me again. I had killed this Tracy. I didn't quite understand what it meant to have killed someone but I didn't like it, not one bit.

I reached out my mind to Mother.

_Mother? Why do we have to kill to be born? I don't like this 'killing'_.

_None of Us do,_ She tells me. _The humans think We don't care. That We aren't aware of feelings, that We are just killing machines. They are wrong. Some have perished rather than come into the world knowing they've killed something to do it. It is simply the way we were created. But that will change now,_ She tells me_, because of you. You can make it so that We never again have to kill to be born. There are many who believe this our rightful place, that We are superior simply because of our forms but We can not be superior if We rely on another species to continue are own. To kill for food is acceptable, but to kill in cold blood, the cool blood of these humans, it is wrong. But you will change that Xenayakata, _She tells me. _But first you must grow, must learn, must understand the human world in which you have been born to. You must understand so that the next generation will know also, only then will We be able to make Our way. _She sends her love to me again and so do They, my family, as always before turning back to whatever it is They did when They weren't taking to me.

"Xeno?" Tina talks to me.

I realize have not thought to her in a long time. I sense she is worried.

_I am tired now._ I think to her. _I have learnt many things today. Very tiring._

"You're still young, it will happen easily. But tomorrow it won't be so much. Every day you will be stronger. You will grow."

_Growing is good?_ I asked.

"Yes, growing is good."

_Then I am happy that I will grow. Good night. _I think to her.

"Good night Xeno."

I think all on my own, to only myself before I sleep. Growing is good. My family says I must grow. Mother says I must grow. Tina says I will grow.

Growing is good, so I will grow.

(break)

Sometime in the early hours of the morning, Dr. Mike Ranger watched the tiny form that was Xeno.

It looked like a normal human now but it hadn't when it had been born. Its skin had been black and the dorsal horns had been obvious. It had had a tail and tiny points of her crown had been visible on her small head as well as having had claws. She had changed though as Dr. Tina Hawkins had held her.

The infant Xeno-human had taken on a more human form, just as the Xenomorph nanobots allowed her body to do, and then she had looked up at him with her yet unseeing ice blue eyes- she didn't know it, but because of those innocent eyes of hers he'd changed his mind about her.

When she mastered control of her body she would be capable of becoming entirely human or entirely Xenomorph but neither was her true form. Until she could control the nanobots she would remain human, unless she came in contact with a Xenomorph which would spur the nanos to react on their own, and until such time they would have to watch her carefully.

They weren't sure exactly what skills she possessed but they had to be certain that none of the marines on base found out about her until she had matured and could be allowed to mingle with them.

Before that could happen though, she needed to be trained in every form of combat possible, how to handle guns and learn the lingo of the marines- if she was to be allowed among them she would have to pass for a real marine.

Dr. Ranger shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs of sleep from his mind.

He still couldn't believe what they were going to let her, no, _encourage _her, to do with the marines in only under a week, because that was all the time it was going to take for her to mature.

As soon as Xeno had matured, her hormones were going to kick into overdrive and when _that_ happened she would be producing a startling amount of pheromones, enough so that when ever she walked into a room any male within a twenty-foot radius was going to start drooling. And they were suppose to sit back and let nature take it's course, let the marines think that the newest piece of eye candy was just an ordinary female human.

It was crazy. At least that was what he thought.

But the orders had come from the top; they wanted to experiment further with the mixing of the two species, they wanted to make sure that natural fertilization was possible, not only for the Xenomorphs later on.

He knew exactly what they wanted. It wasn't enough for them that they had finally developed a means to breed Xenomorphs with out the need for hosts and that had been dangerous enough, they wanted to develop the perfect combination of the two, the perfect Xeno-human warrior, via Xeno and courtesy of the toughest marines about, those of the Mayataken base of Quadrant XT-892.

Of course Xeno would most likely never even get to hold any offspring that resulted; they would be taken into research.

He thought it was bad enough that offspring might come to exist in the first place but to not even let the mother hold her own flesh? That was the icing on the cake.

They didn't even treat the regular Xenos like that, yet it was exactly what they were going to do to one that was a part of them as well.

It disgusted him, what they were going to force on her.

He didn't exactly like Xenomorphs himself, but he respected them. He recognised them as living creatures, _intelligent_ living creatures. Most of all recognised Xeno now as an infant. She was a baby, one he'd help to create, though he wouldn't go so far as to claim parentage as Dr. Hawkins had.

He knew how intelligent she had the potential to be and it frightened him a little, especially seeing as he knew that intelligence was teamed with the strength and other physical attributes of the Xenomorphs.

He looked down on Xeno again.

It was hard to believe that in just under a week, this tiny form would increase in size ten-fold and be as large as him as well as being trained like a fully out-fitted, twelve year veteran marine.

The raising siren sounded, snapping Dr. Ranger out of his train of thought.

He looked down at Xeno again, one last time.

He had decided he felt sorry for her; she had been created as breeding tool for the Xenos but now she would be use as one for the Xeno-human warriors as well.

She had no greater purpose than to simply breed, to be used and to be rejected when she was no longer useful.

He could not begin to think what heartbreak awaited her.

(break)

I wake up to a loud sound. It hurts my ears and I cry out for Tina.

I am surprised when it is Mike that picks me up and I stop crying.

"There you are, it's alright now. That sound's just to tell everyone it's time to get up."

_It's very loud._ I think to him.

"It just seems like it to you because- hey! You talked!" He said suddenly, surprised.

_No, I thought._ I tell him. _Tina has not told of our lessons?_

"No." He said quietly, considering Xeno's tiny form. "When did learn you to do this?"

_I've always done this._ I think to him.

"Really?"

_Yes. While you talk to me, I think to you. Humans do not understand hisses. _

"No they don't but I could teach you to speak human." Mike offered.

_Really? I would like that. I like to learn things that are new. _I tell him.

"Would you like to start now? I don't have anything to do today. It's my day off."

_Yes. Please teach me._

So began the thirst to learn.

End Ch 1

Hey, hope you all liked that! Please R&R!


	3. Ch2: The world is a scary place

A/N: Any character or theme or name or creature and anything else from the movie I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Xenayakata and the species Xenyautan. These two are my creatations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my character or species I will send the real Xenayakata after them and she gets crankywhen people rip her off.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Special thanks tomy only reviewer Kae-she Katsumi who reveiwed both the preivous chapters. This chapter is dedicated to you!

Enjoy the story ; P

Chapter 2: The World is a Scary Place

For the remainder of the week when ever I was not learning from Tina, Mike would teach me to speak human and every day I grew larger and stronger.

I began my combat lessons on the third day after my birth and by the end of the week I had learnt much, mastered control of the techniques of combat and the human language. But one thing had not gone to plan; I had not matured fully as it was thought I would and so I had not learnt to control the nanobots in my body.

Tina told me that, mentally at least, I was at the stage they deemed a 'young adult' but I still had to mature more before I could learn more about the human world by going out into it.

I wanted to go out. The room that I had been taught and trained in was now prison-like to me. I needed to be out, to run, to stretch and practice my skills.

_Need to be out._ I thought to Tina.

"You can't Xeno, not yet."

_Need to run. _

"Xeno…" Tina sighed.

_Need to be out. Need to run. Please Tina? Need to stretch. Need to be out. I'm trapped in here. Please?_

"No, Xeno…"

"Oh, come on Tina." Mike came to Xeno's defence. "One little trip out side won't hurt her. For all we know it could be the fact that we've kept her in here that's stopped her from maturing at a normal rate."

"I don't know…"

_Please Tina? Please?_ I thought begged her.

"Come on Tina. One slightly early trip won't hurt."

"And how do you suppose we get her out there with out the patrols seeing her? There aren't any children on this base and you know it, while at the moment she looks like a five year old. How would we explain that?"

"She's still small enough to fit into a bag." Mike said.

_Please Tina? I'll be good. You won't even know I'm there. _

"Oh alright." Tina gave in. "But you'd better behave or we'll be coming straight back."

_Promise. Cross my heart._ I thought to her.

Mike winks at me and I wink back. We were friends now. I speak fluent human now and I have begun to teach Mike to understand and speak Xeno. We didn't tell Tina. It is our secret. It will be a surprise.

Mike put me into a large white bag and zipped it up. I couldn't see but I could hear.

I heard the doors opening and gave a little excited hiss.

"Quiet Xeno. No sound until we get out side. I'll tell you when." Mike says.

_No sound._ I think to him. _Quiet as a mouse._

I look around me in the bag for something to play with quietly.

There is only one thing that interested me. A little jar filled with yellow stuff.

"Almost there Xeno." Mike says quietly.

But I'm not paying attention; I'm much more interested in the yellow stuff. It seems familiar some how.

I start to pry open the jar. Suddenly the lid comes off with a 'pop' and the yellow stuff splatters all over.

It burns me. I can feel my flesh burning and I screech. It is burning the bag too but all I know is that I'm burning.

"Xeno? Xeno!" Mike yells as I screech again.

And then I feel the change.

It is too fast to follow but suddenly I am different. I've fallen through the bottom of the bag were the acid has eaten through it. I hear Mike and Tina gasp as loud as a waterfall in my ear. I'm not burning any more. I look at myself and I am black and shiny all over. I have seen pictures of what I am now.

I am a Xenomorph.

Suddenly I am surrounded by the sounds of my family and Mother. They are calling to me.

_Time to come home,_ They tell me. I am so happy to be a Xenomorph, the sound of my family is all around and I feel as though I can never be alone again, especially when Mother gives her joyful cheer. I run towards her voice, not listening to Mike and Tina as they call for me to come back. Soon I have left them behind.

Something hits me hard in my leg and tears through my tough exoskeleton.

"XENO!" Someone yells.

I look and see it is a marine. And his gun is pointed at me.

_Not enemy._ I think to him. _Not enemy. My name Xenayakata._

"Why don't you run, you little fucker?"

He does not understand me. But I learn from his mind that his name is Anthony Marker. I show him that I mean no harm. I sit on my haunches and scratch my chin with my hind foot.

"What the fuck is going on here?" The marine growls, keeping his gun levelled at me.

_Friend._ I think to him.

Then he fires at me.

A bullet only just misses my head as I jump away. I hit a wall and am surprised when I do not fall to the floor. I am sticking to the wall and I remember that Xenomorphs can do this.

Then the marine fires at me again and there is no more time for thinking.

I run.

I run and dodge side to side, up and down the walls and the ceiling, making it harder for the marine to hit me. This slows me down but still I am faster then him. I have left him behind now but I come to a dead end. I hear the marine coming after me. He is calling for back up. I know he will kill me but I have no where to go.

I know he is much closer now. I can smell him now. He stinks of something smokey.

I hear a small hiss to my left. My heart is pounding as I hear it. I swear it sounds like a 'come here' hiss.

Cautiously I creep near to a vent grill in the wall. I am sure this is where the hiss came from.

_Hurry_. I hear a thought. _He be here soon. Gone and safe you must be when he comes. _

_Who are you? _I think.

_Friend. Mother sends me. Come. Hurry. Pity it would be to see beauty like you splattered by bullets._

It was the jibe that spurred me on more than the sudden 'clang' as the grill was reduced to shrapnel by a set of razor sharp claws. I wanted to see the thing that called me a beauty so I could give it a swat. Beauty was a human term for appearing nice and I did not want anything to do with humans at the moment.

I scramble into the vent and bump into something solid.

_Hello Xenayakata. _I hear him think.

How do I know it is a he? I don't know. I feel it. It is like I feel the difference between Mike and Tina. They feel different in their minds. Something in Tina's tells me it is Tina and something in Mike's tells me it is Mike.  
Something tells me it is a male.

_Who are you?_ I ask again.

_I tell you later. _He thinks to me. _We go now. To safe place. The Others will look for you. Find you they must not. At least not yet. _

I feel him moving away and I start to follow. After a few seconds I hit a wall. I screech softly with indignation and because of my stinging face.

I hear him hiss softly in Xeno laughter.

_You should watch where walking._ He thinks to me. I feel his amusement but it does not amuse me.

_I was watching. You didn't tell me there was a corner here. I can't see and I don't know how you can. Have you got night goggles or something?_ I ask angrily.

His amusement stops abruptly.

_You can't see? _He thinks to me.

_No. I told you that already. And if I could see I would have known there was a corner here and I wouldn't have walked into the wall. That would just be stupid of me. _I think to him angrily._ And I am _not_ stupid. _

_We see dark places as good as light._ He thinks to me. _It's part of what_ _Xeno's do._

_You're a Xenomorph? _I ask.

_Yes. _He thinks to me. _I thought you knew. You can't see me?_

_No. _I think to him._ I can feel you. I know you are there but I can't see you. _

I know he is thinking. I feel his sudden happiness and guess he has thought of something.

_Have Others taught about Xenos? _He thinks to me.

_Yes. Why?_

_Did Others know we have eyes?_

This makes me think. I remember every lesson very well. I realize that Tina always said that Xenos had no eyes. She thought that they used something like a bat's sonar radar to see every thing and that was the reason for their elongated heads and the hissing sounds that they made; to send out a vibration that carried and then to collect the return sounds off of as many surfaces as possible in order to see what was around them. Now I know better.

_No. _I think to him. _The humans believe we have no eyes. They think we use the sounds around us in order to see._

_Very wrong they are. _He thinks to me. I feel his amusement again. _Our eyes very near mouths; no Other want touch Xeno mouth, even White Skin ones._

_You mean the scientists?_

_I don't know what they called. They no stop shooting to tell, you know. _I feel his agitation as he hisses softly.

_So what is this about our eyes? _I think to him, changing subject. I feel he is happier now, to know something I don't.

_We can see different. _He thinks to me. _Blink hard. _I do as he says.

Suddenly I can see an outline of red. Everything is still dark but I can see a little better. The red is around the male. I still can not see him though.

_See me now?_

_Yes. _I think to him._ I see you now. Why are you surrounded by red?_

_That my scent. All Xeno have red scent. Human and food things has blue scent. Predator has - _

_I know all about Predators. _I hiss sharply. _I do not want to hear more about them. They kill for no reason other than their own glory. They disgust me. _

_Then no more talk of them. _He thinks. I feel he dislikes what I have said but I don't know why.

_So I am red to you? _I ask.

_No. You different. Mostly red but have blue and green also. Near head._

He knew about me, I was sure of it.

Green. The Predator's scent colour. I hated the part of me that was akin to their species but it had made it possible for me to live and without it I wouldn't have existed.

_Are you as disgusted as I am that part of me is them?_ I think to him.

_I am not disgusted at all._ He thinks back.

Something has changed in his thoughts. There is something warm there. It is hope but of what I do not know.

_You should be._ I think to him. _They are disgraceful and- _

_I was born from one. _

This shocks me. I can not think of something to say.

_How could you have been born from one? I have never heard of this happening._

_I am a first. Just like you. Blink hard again. I show you._

I do as he tells me and I am stunned. I see him now. Everything is bright and I can see very well. But I only see him.

He is not black or shiny. He looks like a Predator almost. He is small, with short strands of what a human would call Predator 'hair' coming from his head and the colour of Predator flesh but I can see that his skin is far tougher than any Predator's.

It is criss-crossed by scars of his past battles and I know that he is a warrior; a very good one to have survived and recovered from so many battles to carry no hindrance and only scars to show off.

_What are you? _I ask.

He suddenly turns his head to the side, listening. I listen also.

Men are coming to the marine's call. I have completely forgotten the marine.

_No time now. Enough wasted. I tell later. First to safety. _He thinks to me urgently.

_Lead the way. _I tell him.

He takes off and this time I follow without running into walls. I have only one thought at the moment.

The world is a scary place.

-

End Ch 2

Hey, hope you all liked that! Please R&R!


	4. Ch3: More Peices of the Puzzle

A/N: Any character or theme or name or creature and anything else from the movie I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Xenayakata and the species Xenyautan. These two are my creatations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my character or species I will send the real Xenayakata after them and she gets cranky when people rip her off. 

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

To DrappaWolf; haha, you will have to wait and see!

To Kae-she Katsumi; her human friends are the scientists that made her so their fine...for now...

Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the story ;P

Chapter 3: More Pieces of the Puzzle

It is a very long journey.

Everything twists and turns and soon I am lost. I have no idea where I am in the base. It all looks grey and metallic to me now.

_How much further is the safe place? _I think to my guide.

_Not far. Not long._

Something in his thoughts is strange. He is excited. I wonder why he told me 'not long.'

Suddenly I see the vent stops up ahead. So does the male. I feel it is a time for caution and quiet.

_We have to risk a run in the open before we can be safe, don't we? _I ask.

_Clever, Xenayakata. Learn quickly you do. _

I am sure I feel approval in his thoughts.

_How far do we have to run? And what are we aiming for?_

_Just follow me_. He insists.

_Tell me. If we somehow get separated, or I can't see you, that means I'm stuck. Call it sort of a back up plan. At least if something does happen then I can make my own way._

_We not get separated. Hold my tail if think you will lose sight. But anything you do, do with me. You not go from my sight. I not let you get hurt. No worry._

_I would feel better all the same… _

_No worry_. He insists.

I am beginning to get annoyed with this male, I think.

_Stubborn_. I accuse. _If you will not tell me, maybe I should find out on my own. Move over. I want to see_. I try to push past him but he is an unmoveable wall.

_No. _

_I may not have been a Xeno for very long but I have other skills. I am warning you now, do not get on my nerves. You may not think it but I can hold my own. And I can hurt you if I need to._

_I think not_. He thinks to me. I feel his feelings. He feels worried but somehow I don't think it is about me hurting him.

_Then think again. _

I push past even though he tries to stop me. I continue until I am almost at the exit when I feel teeth on my tail.

It is the male. He is trying to pull me back.

_You can't go._ He thinks to me. _Not on your own._

_Let go of me! _I think to him, rounding back on him and taking a swipe at him. He lets go but in the moment it takes for me to regain my balance he has gotten past me and blocks the exit.

_You not go on your own_. He thinks to me with a low hiss.

_I am not a hatchling. I can take care of my self. _

_The hell you can_! He retorts.

_That's a human saying you know. It doesn't suit a Xeno. _I think to him trying to annoy him.

_Been here a while. Xeno that lives with humans, listening to only human talk, tend to start talking like human. And you sound like human more than me! _

_Because I was raised by them! I have an excuse!_ I was really annoyed now.

_You would probably be better off as human! _He thinks to me and I start to see only red.

I am angry now. But he doesn't stop. _What use is Xeno that can't listen? I f no listen, no obey, if no obey-_

He does not finish. I have tackled him in my anger and I am pinning him down, my face pressed right up to his as I hiss at him.

_I listen well enough to know there is something you are not telling me. I obey my instincts and my instincts only. My instincts tell me to know ahead of time what is expected of me. I trust my instincts more than I trust you, sent by Mother or not. She has always told me to trust my instincts and trust them I do. _

Though at the moment my instincts are telling me that I like the feel of this male submissive under my caws. I want to hurt him for the things he has said but I do not want to offend Mother by scratching up the Xeno She has sent to help me.

_You finished? _He thinks to me.

_For now. I f you piss me off more between here and the safe place I might just have to kill you_. I hiss at him, not really sure myself whether I meant it or not. _Do you have a name? I prefer to be able to have a name to go with a face. _

_I don't have name. I allowed to chose own but only when succeed in mission. _He thinks to me.

_You are without a name? How would you know that you are being spoken to?_

_Mother calls me Predalian. That what she calls my type of Xeno. You let me up now? _

I realise that I am still holding him down.

_Will you tell me what I want to know?_

_Yes. I will tell. Otherwise we no go anywhere._

I let him up. He pulls himself to his feet.

_At end of vent is room. On other side of room is other vent. We run from this to other. Simple._

I know he is not telling me everything.

_I don't buy it. _I tell him._ What's in the room?_

_Was kind of hoping you not ask_. He thinks to me and I feel his attempt at the rarely seen Xeno humour. I also feel his anxiety.

_What is in there Predalian? _My patience has run out.

_Marine post_. He admits. _Marine sits there all times. No real running. Slow and quiet. _

I think about this. This is not good. It is hard to walk quietly on metal when you have claws.

_Is there-_

_No other way to safe place. _He thinks to me, cutting off my hopes of such a scenario.

_But no worry. _He continues. _Need marine. He help you grow. You be look out, I do hard part._

_What's the hard part? _I ask suspiciously.

_Getting marine with no noise._

_Mother does not like that we kill humans for no reason. Will you kill him?_

_No. Stun only. Still be alive. Just…sleep._

_Good. I like Mother. I do not want to get on her bad side. _

_I don't either_.

_Are we going to move? _I ask, changing subject again.

_Yes. We go now. Quiet and slow_.

_You mean slow and quiet_. I joke.

_Whatever. He retorts. _I feel he is no longer in mood for games and be quiet.

We move out of the vent, as quiet as mice. I see the marine below us. He does not even know we are there.

Another piece of the puzzle.

The puzzle that has begun in my mind. And it started when I became a Xenomorph, when I met this nameless Xeno Mother calls a Predalian.

I bring my mind back to present thoughts.

_Hold on with tail and back feet and look around. Tell me if is clear_. He thinks to me.

I do as he says.

I am amazed at how strong my tail is. It could support me on it's own I am thinking but I still hold with my feet; it is safer that way. I lower my self down and look around.

All clear. Not another marine in sight.

_All clear_. I think to him.

Before I've even finished thinking to him I feel his tail whip past my head and hear it connect with the marine. I turn to catch the marine but already he has been snatched up by the male.

I pull my self up and turn to him. To me he looks pleased. I think he liked showing how fast and strong he is. I certainly noticed it.

Despite his size, this male is fast. His muscles are lean, no extra to slow him down.

I t is then that I pay attention to my own form. I realise that I am the same, a little larger but just as sleek.

My back has the normal double row of Xeno horns along it but I have more of them than the drones I have seen in the pictures Tina has shown me and they do not point straight up like theirs do, they point up on an angle and then out to the sides. If you had a stiff piece of board you could make a table of them, I am thinking.

My head is different also; it is a more flattened shape than the normal banana-like skulls I have seen on Xenos and has seven small points at the end.

My tail does not have a single blade at its tip but three and more spines along its entire length and up my spine, all the way to the base of my skull. I also have blades on my knees and elbows. As I study myself I realise that I have never seen a Xeno that looks like I do. I also realise that the male is studying me also; I feel him looking at me and thinking something about me.

I feel him move to stand next to me.

_Did you want something? _I ask sassily.

I feel his confidence of something. I try to find what it is he is confident about but his feelings change suddenly.

_We should go. Not take long for others to miss him_. He tells me.

_Give him to me_. I think to him as I see him trying to carry the human's dead wait. _I can hold him easier because of my back horns and I'm bigger. _

_You sure you can handle? _I sense concern in his thoughts but I feel that it is greatly unjustified and snap back at him;

_Of course I'm sure! I am not a hatchling! I've already told you that and I do not want to be treated like one!_

_Fine. _He says simply.

For some reason I feel that this has been too easy; I expected him to argue with me.

He moves the unconscious marine onto my back and I see why he does not argue.

This marine is very heavy.

I feel him being amused as he sees that I find the human heavy. But I refuse to be laughed at. I brace my legs and arms and stand tall though it is still a fair bit of effort because though I am bigger than the male, neither of us is that big at all; a Praetorian is probably at least twice my size.

_Are we going or what? _I ask as he is just standing there.

He seems very surprised that I have not told him to take the human back.

_You sure? _I feel great concern from him now and know that he is really is worried about me.

_You're repeating yourself Predalian_. I tell him jokingly.

_And you not answering question. What's your point? _He tells me snappily.

I look at him and watch him closely. He is agitated but in an odd way. I know he is not agitated at me. It is like he is agitated for me.

He is protective of me.

I find it odd that he should be so but I suppose it is because he is supposed to keep me safe. It would just not do if I broke something from carrying an unconscious marine.

_I'm sure_. I think to him. _Piece of cake. We going now? _I ask as I shift the marine's weight on my back.

He looks doubtfully at me for a moment but then looks ahead.

_That way_. He says. His behaviour is very curious to me.

Oh well. I think to myself.

More pieces to the puzzle.

-End Ch3


	5. Ch4: No more lonely

A/N: Any character or theme or name or creature and anything else from the movie I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Xenayakata and the species Xenyautan. These two are my creatations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my character or species I will send the real Xenayakata after them and she gets cranky when people rip her off. 

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Thanks to all reveiwers but especially _Kae-she Katsumi_ who was here from the begining.

Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the story ;P

Chapter 4: No More Lonely

She is amazing.

She is incredible.

She is inconceivable.

She is completely destructive to male ego.

Xenayakata has everything I look for in female except obedience.

Her scent driving me crazy when I get close but I want get close to her, in many, many ways.

But mission come first.

But it hard to remember when her tail only arm reach away and want to pounce on her and…but mission come first.

Wish first part was over. Then could get to fun part- if Xenayakata accepts.

Understand now why Mother not want me to chose name till mission successful; if mission not successful, no need for name; no Predalian to name. Not live anymore if not successful. Can't live if not successful.

_Keep going._ I think to her. _Almost there._

We arrived now.

For many days been making safe place for Xenayakata to come to. Very proud of it. Walls covered in resin make look like home, tunnels everywhere make look like home. Xenayakata here make look like home.

Very lonely without Mother and Family. Xenayakata takes lonely away. Xenayakata makes happy.

She is special, like me.

Both choose own names. Both different. Both firsts. Both lonely away from Mother and Family. I feel her lonely. It very strong. I want make her lonely go away.

She is looking around safe place.

I feel she like what sees. Her lonely lessens. Not gone, but smaller.

She shifts marine to ground and turn to me.

Her scent still making me crazy. But must wait. Mission come first.

I hope mission successful.

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He is looking at me strangely as I turn to him. I can feel that a great amount of effort is being used as he wages a war within himself.

But why is he waring with himself?

This male is confusing me to no ends. He is very protective of me, that I know, but he will snap at me if I show my independence. He likes to protect me, I am thinking. He likes to be in charge.

To bad for him.

I like to be in charge as well. I do not yield to anyone but Mother.

_We must put marine on wall_. He thinks to me, interrupting my thoughts.

_How?_

_With resin. Holds better than any human metal things._

He moves to do just that but I stop him. He looks at me curiously.

_I want to do this. I have never done this before and I want to learn. If I am to be a Xeno I must learn the things that a Xeno does._

_Fine_. He thinks to me. He is still looking at me strangely but I feel his respect for me.

I pick up the marine in my hands, rising onto my hind legs. I find it is actually easier to hold him this way; he does not seem so heavy anymore. He does not seen so large any more either.

I find this odd but I continue to think about what I am to do. I turn to the male.

_How do I make resin?_

_Make like going to roar, but deep in back of throat. Then spit._ He instructs.

I do as he tells me and I feel a lump of gooey stuff in the back of my throat. I hold the marine against the wall and spit.

The resin flings across his waist and the wall, sticking him to it.

I let go and the marine's top half slumps but he stays stuck to the wall. I am very pleased to have made such strong resin on my first try.

I do the same thing again for his wrists, arms, legs and ankles. For good measure I spit resin across his neck to hold his head up.

I turn back to the male.

_Did I do a good job?_ I think to him.

_Very._ He thinks back. _Very good job._

_What do we do now? You said that we needed the marine to help me grow. How?_

_You Xeno, human and Predator but mostly Xeno, right?_ He thinks to me.

_Right._ I affirm.

_For Xenos and Predators to mature, need be blooded. Predators can be anything. Xenos need chest-burstable. Only humans available._

_We have to kill him?_ I ask, horrified.

_You kill. I already matured. You born like Us, must mature like Us. Must head bite_.

_But I don't want to kill humans! Mother does not like Us to kill humans!_

_But must. Only way to mature. Besides, this human old, he hurts, is lonely, want take own life. That why I chose him. That why tunnels to safe place pass him. No one miss him. I checked._

I understand now that this has all been thought out very thoroughly; the human chosen for my blooding, the safe place that had obviously been lovingly made, the unique male, a first of his kind, chosen to protect and watch over me.

I feel sorry for the humans. I admit. They have nothing like Mother or Family to keep them company even when they are alone. They seem only to be fodder for others, or hosts for Us. I almost wish I didn't exist, if only it meant I did not have to do this.

I almost screech in my sadness for these soft creatures that our creator seems to have intended us to haunt and hunt endlessly.

The male comes closer to me.

He raises his hand and places it on my neck. He gently kneads the taunt muscles there as he slowly runs the tip of his tail along my spine.

It feels nice and I start to calm down as he hisses softly to me.

_Must mature like this so next Xenos no have to. Have heard this marine talk to self; "Wish Xenos just kill me. Nothing else look forward to." We do him favour. This his wish. I prove to you. I wake him up. He say 'kill me'. I show you._

The male moves away from me and walks over to the marine. He touches a spot on the marine's neck and suddenly the marine is awake.

The marine looks around him but I feel no fear from him.

His eyes pass over the male but when they reach me he stops.

"You aren't mature yet, are you girl?" He says quietly. "That's why I'm here. You need to be blooded."

I am shocked that a human is talking so calmly to what he believes is a regular Xenomorph.

I decide to try and think to him like I think to Tina and Mike.

_Why are you not afraid?_ I think to him.

"Is that you? That voice in my head, is that you girl?"

_Yes._

"I thought so. I always knew you Xenos could understand us. You're a lot more intelligent than those damned scientists think. I always hear you all talking. I try to talk too, but you never hear me. I haven't got the right stuff to talk with my thoughts- always wanted to though- but I can only to hear you."

_You hear Xenos?_ I ask.

"All the time. I know about you, too. You may need to be blooded but your children wont have to, they wont need hosts or have any need for humans at all; you'll be free of us forever. I'm glad for you all, really I am. I think you'll be so much more on your own than you ever could be being dependant on another species to live. Who knows, maybe one day you'll have evolved enough to do something about the mess we humans have made of everything."

I am amazed by this human. He feels for my kind much more than he feels for his own and wishes us well although he is a marine.

_Do not you kill Xenos? How can you wish Us well when every day you destroy my kind?_ I ask.

"I've never killed a Xeno and I've never wanted to." The marine answers me. "Hell, I've never even seen a Xeno close up 'till now; I've never had the chance. I only got here five months ago and only because I got drafted. My wife had just been killed in a shoot out –she was eight months pregnant with my daughter- I didn't care about anything anymore. They were my whole world and they'd been snatched away; there was no way in Hell I was going to do that to someone else, even a Xeno, especially after I found out I could hear you and listened to how your lives really are. I don't even load my gun. I've always hoped that if the Xenos got in, one of them would kill me before one of the others got to it. Hell, I'd let them in if it meant all this pain would just end!"

As he falls silent and hangs his head, I see wetness on his cheeks. He is crying.

I feel for this marine. I know about the human 'wives' and I know that human males love them very much. To have lost his wife and an unborn daughter, he must feel such pain that it is unimaginable to me who has not experienced a loss like this.

I feel I must do something for him, something so that he does not feel so alone inside as he does.

"Will you do it now?" The marine says to me as I approach him.

I stop only inches from him. "I'm offering myself to you. Kill me. I just want it to end. I want you to kill me, to mature, to teach all the humans who've done you wrong, unjustly, a lesson.

"The Xenomorphs are purer than any human ever was, and most of all they can feel more than any human has. They deserve to be free to do anything they want. At least if I go this way I'll have been good for something; I couldn't help my wife -or my daughter- as they died, bleeding to death because of some cold, unfeeling bastard who shot her, but maybe I can help you, maybe I can help you Xenos in this, make a difference. That'sworth dying for."

As I look at him, his eyes bright with tears, I know what I can do for him.

_What is your name?_ I ask him.

"What? Oh, it's Stormer, Brenton Stormer." He answers, puzzled.

I place my hands on either side of his face, put my forehead to his and I think to him, gently;

_Be proud of what you are doing, who you are, who you have been. Because of what you are doing, I will show you something special._

I seek Mother with my mind. I find her and quickly explain about the marine and what I want to do.

She approves and I seek the rest of my family.

_Brenton Stormer, you, who has chosen to give your life so that We may build a better one for our selves, know that your name will be sacred amongst our kind, long after humans have forgotten you even existed and We show our gratitude._

And then I open into his mind the link I have to my family.

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It is incredible, magical and mind blowing.

I can see the Hive. I can see Mother, the Empress. She sends to me her feelings of gratitude and affection and I am now in the tunnels. I see the Xenomorphs as they carry out their individual tasks throughout the Hive. My vision moves from one to another as the Xenos show me more and more of their home, each expressing their gratitude and thanking me for my sacrifice.

I hear as a Xeno.

I feel as a Xeno.

I see as a Xeno.

I am a Xeno.

Their feelings of love and gratitude envelope me, overwhelm me. I can feel them all, all around me, sending to me their feelings, thanking me.

I can feel everything. I can feel all. No more sorrow lurks in corners of my heart. I realise now that this has been my purpose; to help the Xenomorphs accomplish their freedom as they have now helped me to accomplish mine.

I am happy.

Truly happy.

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The marine lies slumped in his cocoon of resin; he knows no more.

I am glad to know that he was happy when I took him from this life that only gave him pain.

He died happy, not even knowing that he had gone this world.

I knew all his feelings as he died; I now hold all his memories too. They are mine now. I don't know why his memories are mine now, but they are and that's all that matters.

He heard Xenos and longed to be able to talk to us. He didn't belong in the world of destruction the humans have built around them. He pitied his own race and wished for all the things that Xenos have in their lives; he was truly a Xenomorph born into, and trapped, in a human body.

I turn to the male.

_It is done now._ I think to him.

_But not finished_. He thinks back.

_What?_

I feel the male is hesitating.

_Being blooded not all must accomplish to mature_. He explains. _Is enough for Predator and normal Xenos, but you special; you be Queen someday._

_Queen? But Mother is the Queen, the Empress. I can't be the Queen if She is- She has power over me_. I am shocked that this male would suggest such a thing.

_But must be Queen_. He insists. _Mother children need be chest-bursters; yours not. I last chest-burster. No more will Mother make. You must make. Must make no chest-bursting Xenos; Xenos born like human._

The male is close to me. He is breathing hard.

What he says makes sense. It is what I have been born for. But I still do not know how this will happen.

_How does this happen? I do not know how. How do I mature to make this happen?_ I ask.

He seems excited. He is closer now, we are almost touching.

_Must mate, Xenayakata. For Queen to mature she mates and make first Xenos of her season. Must choose a mate, Xenayakata_.

Now I understand his strange behaviour, his excitement.

He wishes to be my mate.

And I want him to be.

I like this male. He is sometimes annoying but in a good way. He is cleaver, he has saved me and helped me and is strong. But he is also like me. A first and only. And Mother made him for me; I am sure of it. I am happy.

_You want to be my mate?_ I am asking playfully. I do not know what will happen, Tina has not told me of this part of my life yet, but I feel safe with this male and I trust him.

He reaches out one hand and touches my neck.

_I very much want to be your mate._ He hisses softly to me.

I think about this for a moment.

_You may be my mate but only if you can catch me._ I tell him.

He retracts his hand and tenses. Then he looks at me strangely.

_Aren't going to run?_ He asks. _You said must catch you; can't catch if you no run._

_I'm not running anywhere_. I tell him cheekily.

I feel he understands now. He is looking at me again.

_Serious?_

_Very._

_In that case…_

He leaps at me suddenly and pins me to the floor.

_Very cheeky Xenayakata_. He hisses gently. _Was ready to chase and everything. Would been fun. But show you more fun…_

His tail curves around his side and he used its tip to lightly trace the joins of my exoskeleton at the base of my skull.

_Very nice_. I think to him, my soft hiss almost a pur.

_Only beginning._

He stops tracing all of a sudden. He gets up, urging me to as well.

_What's wrong?_ I ask. I feel he is agitated about something.

_Sorry._ He thinks to me, his feelings urgent. _But want in you now. Fast first, slow later. Your scent too strong to wait. Been fighting since first met. Can't fight anymore. Need you now._

I let him have his way for now. It's the first time and I don't know what needs to be done. But when I learn, I will be in control.

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Her smell overpowering now.

She excited as I am. She ready for a mate.

She ready for me.

She only for me.

She chosen me.

She my Queen only.

No other male have her.

Only me.

She listens to my instructions. She not know what to do. Crazy with needing her. Will be fast first but gentle. Lots time for slow later. Lots time for games and chasing and hunting. But need her now. She need me now.

Know only one thing now; feelings.

No more lonely.

-End Ch4

Hehe, sorry, no naughty bits. Hope you liked it!


	6. Ch5: This is my true name

A/N: Any character or theme or name or creature and anything else from the movies I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Xenayakata and the species Xenyautan. These two are my creatations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my character or species I will send the real Xenayakata after them and she gets cranky when people rip her off. 

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Thanks to all reveiwers but especially _Kae-she Katsumi_ who was here from the begining.

Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the story ;P

Chapter 5: This is My True Name

A week has passed since I first became a Xenomorph.

And what a glorious week it has been. The male knows more about me than I do.

And he has chosen a name to match my own.

Xenayokoda. King of Xenos.

It suits him; he certainly acts like a king when he wants something.

But he obeys me. I am his Queen and his superior.

I have changed much in the last week –a full three nights of itching, scratching and shedding the price for my recent and final growth- and so has Xenayokoda.

Xenayokoda no longer looks like the young Predalian I first met.

He has grown at least double his original size and his skin has darkened considerably but is still not the black which most Xenos sport. It is a pale, fleshy grey and in the right light it seems to glow.

He has grown into a proud specimen of a male; but then again he already was, only more so now- he looks like a King.

But I no longer even resemble the drone-like Xeno I started as.

I now have grown a magnificent seven-pointed crown which decrees my status as a Queen. Despite my status though, I am not much larger than Xenayokoda but I am faster and more mobile than any Queen has ever been. I am faster than even a runner and just as agile, but stronger than the past Queens.

I am indeed the Queen of Xenomorphs.

And my children have proved that.

There are nine in all so far. They have been born just as they should have been; all though they were born from eggs, they were not the hatchling face-huggers that have come before them- they are more.

I have made four drones, four Praetorians and a Queen.

Enough to keep the old Hive alive and thriving until I am ready to leave this place.

Because I am not ready to leave.

Something more must be done. I must do something here, but I do not know what. Xenayokoda is worried about me, I feel it. He thinks I will do something foolish.

He has become so protective of me.

He sees as well as I do the looks my Praetorian children give me.

It is their place to be the warriors of a Hive but also to be the mates to the Queen. The young Queen I have produced will not be old enough to mature and mate for another week yet but the Praetorians will mature in only a couple days. By then a new season will be beginning and with no other Queen capable of mating they will be turning to me for their needs. But I know that Xenayokoda will not share. He has told me as much.

To stop the inevitable, either the Praetorians must go or I must.

Because the young Queen will not be ready to leave until she has matured and the Praetorians will be her protectors until then, I can not send them away.

It is I that must go but this suits me; I must find what it is that I am meant to do here and I will do it as a human.

I control my body now. I will be human so that the Praetorians are not tempted and once the young Queen has matured, Xenayokoda will lead them to Mother's Hive where she can lay her eggs.

By then I hope to have accomplished what I am here to do and Xenayokoda will come back for me and I will go with him to meet Mother.

Then we will leave.

We will start a new Hive.

Our own Hive.

I have decided I can not live in Mother's shadow, in the Hive which She and Her first mate dug with their own hands. I can not live where I will only be remembered as an accomplishment of the old Queen. I can not live where I will only be known as Her daughter.

Xenayokoda and I both feel this way.

We will start our own life, our own Hive, well away from this place that humans are claiming as their own; there is no future for our children here. We will start anew.

A new home for a new kind of Xenomorph.

But first I must out what it is I must do here.

It is time to leave this place.

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The Praetorians have become harder to keep in line and I can not risk their obedience for much longer.

I have returned to my human form to keep them at bay but still they persist, only begrudgingly remaining leashed.

Still smell like Queen, They tell me, still smell like need male attention.

Xenayokoda confirms it. He is hard-pressed to restrain himself also.

This I do not understand.

As a human I should not be attracting male Xenos, even by smell. Maybe I will ask Mike and Tina when I return- surely the scientists will know why.

Xenayokoda has just left, leading my children off through the ventilation to where they will leave this place of humans and return to the Hive, where Mother awaits them.

_Goodbye Xenayakata. _I hear him think faintly. _Will return at your call. Hopefully soon. _

And then he is gone.

Now it is my turn to leave this sanctuary.

It is much harder to crawl through vents as a human. Fleshy, sweaty skin sticks to the metal and makes moving a great labour.

But I get there in the end.

I am above the room where I was born and educated. I know its scent well.

More things that are strange; I retain my Xeno sense of smell and can see in the dark better than I could as a human before.

More questions to ask Mike and Tina.

I pry open the grill and start to manoeuvre so I can drop down into the room. I am glad I am doing this as a human; if I tried as a Xeno I would get stuck for sure.

I am hanging onto the edges of the opening now looking down. It is not very far and I know just how to land without hurting myself.

As I drop to the floor I hear the doors opening but it is too late. I stand slowly and, hoping it is friend not foe that awaits me, turn to face them.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

_I must be dreaming._ I think.

This woman that is standing here in front of me can't be who I hope it is.

But who could mistake those eyes?

"_Xeno?"_

My voice is hoarse with anxiety as she fixes her blue, glacial stare on me.

_So we are finally reunited, Mike?_ I hear her velvety thoughts flitter through my mind and I know it is her.

My heart gives a leap. But questions race also.

Where has she been? How has she matured? What happened in the first place? Why is she naked? _Why is she naked!_

Suddenly it's connected in my brain that she hasn't got a stitch of clothing on.

I hurriedly retrieve a sheet from the cupboard to my left and move towards her, wrapping the sheet around her shoulders.

I see her frown.

"I'm sorry Mike. I've lived as a Xenomorph for so long, I'd forgotten that it's indecent for humans to go around without clothing."

_Not that I mind. _

Now where did _that _come from! I ask myself.

"That's alright Xeno." My voice sounds a lot steadier than I feel. "What I really want to know is where you've been these last ten days and how you managed to stay alive on your own; you were so small before."

_That's good, keep it professional_. I think.

She tilts her head ever so slightly as she stares at me.

_Shit! I forgot she can read my thoughts!_

"Yes, you have seem to have forgotten, Mike." She says softly.

Double shit!

"Um, I-I'm sorry about that Xeno, i-it's just that, you aren't- I m-mean you don't-"

"I wish you would just say what it is you want to say." Xeno says sternly.

That stops my tongue from tying itself in knots.

"What I mean to say," I say, as smoothly as I possibly can, pushing one hand through my hair. "Is that, damn it, you're not a five year old human anymore Xeno. When you turned around, the sight of you knocked the wind out of me. I didn't know it was you until I saw your eyes. I guess I never thought that if you ever made it back here on your own that you would have matured and- and well look the way you do."

I've put my foot in it for sure.

But she looks down at herself beneath the sheet and I can see the surprise in her eyes.

"I suppose I have changed, quite a lot as far as appearances go."

"Yes, you have." I agree, moving to the cupboard behind her to fetch some garments that hang there. "A full grown woman has things a little girl doesn't that make clothing a necessity."

She accepts the pieces of cloth from me but then looks at them blankly.

Shit.

I remember now that she had never dressed herself before the accident that had split us up.

I take the shirt from her gently and show her how to put it on. Then the underwear and pants. It feels so strange to be showing and adult how to do something so trivial but I know that in some ways she is still so very young.

Once she is dressed, she glances down at her coverings in a look close to disgust.

"How the hell do you move in these things anyway? I can't wall crawl in this. It's too confining."

"You mean as a Xenomorph?" I ask, thoughtful. "I suppose you would have to take it off again. Very time consuming, though I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

As I realize what words have just passed my lips I can't believe how easily we have fallen back into out old routine of Questions and Answers. It is like she had never been gone.

I lift my gaze to hers and I see that she is thinking the same thing.

"I'm glad that you're back, Xeno." I say quietly, but I know she can hear me as well as if I had shouted the words. "It certainly wasn't pleasant around here when The Powers That Be found out you'd gone missing. And Tina went completely ape-shape at me for losing you."

"It wasn't _your_ fault," She says and I see that she is very quick to point the blame in another direction. "I shouldn't have run off when I had changed. I could hear- I mean I was scared."

"_Why_ did you change; that's the important question." I scratch my chin, thinking. "Did you touch something specific before you changed?"

"Found a small jar which contain this yellow stuff. When I opened it the yellow stuff splattered all over the place and began to burn."

"_Yellow stuff?"_ I repeat, and my voice cracks as I do.

"Why are you upset?" She looks at me quizzically. "What was the yellow stuff?"

"It was Xenomorph blood! Xeno blood is acidic! That's why the bag burned and that's why you changed; the nanobots in your blood- even though you couldn't control them then -could still change your form, if they were given a blue print. The blood carried the blueprint to the nanobots when you came in contact with them and so you changed."

"But that doesn't not make it your fault." She insists.

"It does because I must have accidentally left the container in the bag." I finish. I can just imagine what Tina will do to me when she finds out that I really was responsible for the accident. "Tina is going to kill me when she finds out."

"She doesn't have to find out."

I look at her, mouth agape, as I realize that she's suggesting that we lie on my behalf.

"That's called lying, Xeno." I say sternly; I certainly can't encourage her to lie.

"It wouldn't be _lying_," She says, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "Lying is saying something that isn't true. We could just…not tell Tina about the Xenomorph blood. It wasn't your fault Mike, it was mine."

I sigh.

She has a point.

"Fine then. If you're willing to keep this quiet, Xeno, I'm not about to put my own head in the noose."

I laugh to my self. "She's probably going to be more concerned with the fact that you're back than with how you managed to change and mature. It means we don't have to try and recreate another you."

She looks worried and puzzled as I say this.

"Another me?"

_Shit._

"Never mind Xeno, it's not important. You're back and that's all that matters."

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

I look upon Mike with curiosity.

He is nervous and relieved at the same time. His pheromones are swarming around him crazily and I almost laugh because they make me feel giddy.

Now he is looking at me curiously.

I can not help but grin.

"I am sorry for being so serious Mike. I have missed being with you and Tina. I have spent too much time hiding from marines with guns. They don't hear me when I think to them and they don't wait for me to try. I have not had much to smile about for a long time."

He smiles at me now and opens his arms. He wants a hug.

I go to him and hug him. I remember this very clearly. I loved Mike's hugs; never too tight but firm enough to warm me. Though I remember being quite a lot smaller the last time I received a hug, it still warms me and I feel safe in the embrace.

Mike suddenly seems a bit uneasy and he pulls away.

"Well, we'd better let Tina know that you're back. She'll be happy to see you."

I feel a little confused. I don't know why Mike pulled away from me. He's never done that before. Maybe he is anxious about Tina finding out about the Xenomorph blood?

I will not say anything about it. I don't want Mike to get in trouble.

Mike moves towards the door and motions for me to follow him.

My breath catches in my throat.

I have never been out side in my human form, never walked the halls, even as a Xenomorph. I am slightly wary. I think Mike sees this.

"It's alright Xeno," He says softly to me. "You'll be fine. You're a human, remember?"

I look down at myself, my hands and my bare feet. I am human for now; no one is going to shoot at me. I take a deep breath as Mike activates the door to open. I take a single step into the outside. I look around.

No sign of danger. I force myself to relax. I am thinking like a Xenomorph, I need to think like a human warrior. I need to think like a marine. Just like Mike and Tina taught me to. I smile at Mike and breath easy. I'm ok

And no one has tried to shoot me.

Suddenly a voice shouts and I jump in surprise, ducking behind Mike.

"What the _Hell_ do you think you're doing!"

Tina comes storming up to Mike, a look of fury on her face that frightens me.

"You _know_ that this lab is out of bounds for civilians Mike! So take your bimbo somewhere else!" Tina scowls, giving me a disgusted look.

"Ah, Tina, this is-"

"I don't care who she is! She is not allowed inside that room!" Tina continues, cutting off Mike's words.

I decide that if she won't listen to Mike, I will have to make her see. It is obvious that she doesn't recognise me like Mike does. I step out from behind Mike so that Tina can see all of me.

"Tina, it is me." I say softly.

Tina looks at me and appears to be about to say something before she gasps and holds one to her mouth in shock.

"_Xeno?"_ She exclaims.

I nod and smile at her. She sees me now for what I am.

She reaches out to me, touches my face and then pulls me into a tight embrace. I hear her crying.

"Don't cry Tina, I'm Ok." I hug her back, trying to sooth her and to try and relax her grip on me. Quickly she regains control of herself, swiping away her tears and straightening her clothing.

"We were sure that marine had gunned you down. We heard the reports of a Xenomorph infestation…and eradication."

"He did not catch me. I was too fast for him." I smiled as I say this. "Fear gives a Xenomorph speed and determination to hide."

"Of course, of course." Tina agrees swiftly, eyeing me in a way that makes me feel uneasy. "We must set up the monitors immediately and the nanobots reader as well; we'll need to determine what capacity they're functioning at presently."

"Tina, shouldn't we enrol her as a marine first?" Mike suggests. "Then we could explain time with us as check-ups."

"Good idea Mike." Tina says absently, tapping on fingernail on her teeth in a way that I have learned as meaning that she is thinking.

Tina grabs my arm and starts pulling me down the hall and I can hear Mike behind us, trying to keep up. We turn a corner and I dig in my heels, forcing Tina to stop.

I smell something I don't like, something familiar. A marine comes around the corner and walks down the hall towards us. As he is about to pass us he stops and looks at me. He whistles under his breath and looks around me to Mike.

"And just who is this, Mikey?" He asks smugly, looking me over again.

I recognise his voice; he is the marine who shot at me when I first became a Xenomorph.

"Don't you have something more important to be doing Tony?" Mike sighs and I hear the agitation in his voice; I don't think he likes this marine either. The marine ignores Mike though, focusing his gaze on me. He does a mock bow, keeping his eyes on me.

"Private, First Class, Tony Marker, at your service, ma'am." He grins at me, showing his teeth and I feel like showing him my own; in my Xenomorph form. "And what might your name be?" He asks.

Mike and Tina look at each other in panic and I can hear their minds work as they both try to come up with a name quickly but I already have one.

"Stormer." I say confidently. "Xeno Stormer." Marker stares at me for a moment, his eyes bulging.

"Stormer?" He asks when he recovers his voice. "You wouldn't be related to a Brenton Stormer would you?"

I smile at him but make my expression slightly mournful.

"He was my father and thanks for bringing it up." I put enough bite into my voice to sound grieved and appalled at his reminder of my 'father's' tragic death.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if you knew." Marker seems startled by this new information. "I didn't even know he had a daughter."

"Well now you do." I turn to leave, indicating to Mike and Tina that we should go but Marker has not finished.

"Hey," He grabs my arm, turning me back to him before I can pull free of his grasp. "What's a civilian like you doing here anyway?"

"I'm not a civilian." I reply, really starting to dislike this arrogant male.

"Then what are you?"  
"She's a Captain." Mike interrupts before I can answer.

"A Captain!" Marker backs away from me like he's been bitten.

"Yes, a Captain." Tina affirms with a grin. "She's just been transferred here and she's coming with us to get a physical, hence the lack of uniform." Tina looks at her watch. "Well, we should get going."

As soon as we are around the corner, Tina and Mike both ask how I came up with the name but I just laugh.

"I pay attention to my surroundings; I had heard that this marine had passed on and utilized that." They continue to ask questions on our journey and I answer them but my mind is on other things.

I think about Brenton Stormer. He sacrificed himself so that We could be free from the human race, for all the Xenomorphs, for me. In a way, he _was_ a father to me.

I wasn't conceived like a normal Xeno or even like a human, I was made. I have no true father or mother, though the Empress gave rise to my being. Still, I call her Mother; maybe in this way Brenton was my father?

This feels right in my heart, to call Brenton Father and so I will.

I am Xeno Stormer.

No.

I am Xenayakata Stormer.

This is my true name.

End Ch5

Mmmmm...things are getting more complicated. If anyone couldn't follow something, just email me and I'll explain or better yet, review! Hope you all liked this chapter and I'll see you all next week!


	7. Ch6: Without a single word

A/N: Any character or theme or name or creature and anything else from the movies I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Xenayakata and the species Xenyautan. These two are my creatations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my character or species I will send the real Xenayakata after them and she gets cranky when people rip her off. 

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Drakonos_:thanks for the review and you'll see what I'm up to in either the next chapter or the one after.  
_Kae-she Katsumi_ :Glad you liked the last chapter. Your story was one of the first fan fics I read and I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter. You get _20 _cyber cookies for reviewing every chapter so far and writting a good story. I'll give ya' another 20 if you update soon...

Thanks to all reveiwers but especially _Kae-she Katsumi_ who was here from the begining. Thanks to the lurkers too but if you review, I'll give you cyber cookies!

A/A/N: this chapter will have rape in it so if you don't like that stuff...just quickly skip over it; it's not that big...

Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the story ;P

Chapter 6 : Without a Single Word

I lay awake on my bed thinking.

The last two weeks, though partly enjoyable because I finally got to handle guns with _live_ ammo, have otherwise been torture due to the fact that Private Marker has gotten it into his head to stalk me. I couldn't even go ot the showers without him showing up and bothering me. I've asked Tina and Mike if they could do something ; like get him sent out into space on a shuttle with a grenade and me with my thumb on the trigger. They laughed and said they would look into it and I had the feeling they weren't telling me something, hiding something but I trust them. I must be imagining it. I don't want to think badly of them.

I have other worries as well; it seems that every male on base suddenly has a crush on me and when I walk down the hall or into a room, they all suddenly want to talk to me or get me something. I've seen some even start drooling!

This confuses me because, as a human, I don't think I'm attractive at all. I have very short, coarse black hair, I'm small and quite stocky, my skin is a different colour and my eyes are a different shape to all the other humans. And the mounds of flesh these human females sport on their chest are very large and pendulous and extremely annoying during combat practice. How any male could be attracted to such a burdensome form is beyond me but they do seem to like it and thankful none of the others are as obnoxious as Marker.

It is annoying though when all of them go easy on me in training sessions and drills, as if I were some sort of fragile thing that could easily break. I may be human but I'm not about to go to pieces if someone lands a decent hit and the lack of challenges is depressing me some what; you can only do so much while practicing on your own.

To fill the time I have been delving into the base archives, looking at Stormer's file and his history to fill in the holes in my cover story. I have found that his wife was what humans call an 'Asian descendant' and looked similar to my own human form. I, of course, changed to date of her death and the information for the offspring to suit my story but when I saw her file picture I was surprised because I realised that I knew this persons face already- from Stormer's memories.

I believe that the reason my human form looks like this may be due to my subconscious Survival Reflex which Mike has told me about. It is a reflex all creatures have which usually prevents us from doing things that would cause us direct harm and does things automatically that help us survive. Sometimes we can over rule and train the reflex, like when we flinch but don't pull away when we have an injection or we go into a dangerous situation even though we may want to run away. Sometimes we can't control it at all, like sneezing to expel potentially harmful particles or closing our eyes when we sneeze. And sometimes we don't even know that it's working, like breathing while we sleep.

I think my subconscious mind knew before my conscious one that appearing like I do in human form would benefit my story and therefore my survival. Mike agrees that it is a probable theory but still doesn't understand why I chose to pretend I was Stormer's daughter.

What transpired between Bryan Stormer and I will always remain sacred to me and even though I don't like lying to Mike and Tina, I don't want them to know about all that happened while I was gone.

I have always known that I was created but I don't know why, or at least the human's reason.

When I have asked, Mike and Tina have always replied that no purpose was intended other than to give me life, for me to live among them peacefully and then they would show me something new and interesting in hopes of distracting me. I soon stopped asking, knowing I wasn't going to get a satisfactory answer but the question has remained with me always; they believe me far more naïve and child-minded than I truly am and this disturbs me a little. I try not to think about it.

Yesterday they gave me orders. I was not, under any circumstance other than direct threat to my life, to hurt any of the marines, in any way. I joked that this was going to put a damper on my plans to assassinate Marker but they didn't laugh as they normally would have. They only glared; too serious. They told me that if the marines requested something of me I was to comply, unless it threatened my safety of course, and I was to treat them respectfully, regardless of rank, even Marker.

From their hash tones they sounded as though they thought I regularly went around, swearing and beating people up like a thug. I admit that sometimes I feel like doing so but I never have and it is only Marker's constant annoyance which makes me feel this way.

The lights out buzzer sound.

I was given quarters outside of the Med Bay two days after my return and I have been laying here since coming back from the mess hall 3 hours ago.

"Finally!" I hiss to myself and twist swiftly off of the bed, landing on all fours. If there is one thing I like about this body, it is that most of its height is in its torso, leaving the legs short enough to be adequate for a four-legged walk.

I have found that I miss my night-crawling habits deeply and so regularly go on what I refer to as 'wild trips'. At night once the lights have gone out, only a few people are in the halls and they are the marines on night watch; while they stalk the halls, keeping guard, I stalk them, purely for the adrenaline rush – and because I can get away with it. Another of my little secrets that I keep from Mike and Tina..

I creep to the door, more quite than a whisper, barefoot and clad in only skin tight clothing that makes no noise as it moves. I palm the door open and slip into the deepr shadows. I can hear footsteps nearby and I grin to myself.

Ready or not here I come.

I move towards the steps, a small hiss escaping my lips. This is going to be fun; I wonder how close I can get this time? I've never known why but it always seems that as soon as the lights go out, everyone who's not on duty disappears. Perhaps their fear of the xenos makes them afraid of the dark too?

Stupid humans.

If the xenos wanted to attack them, their little walls wouldn't stand in the way; I'd already seen that while I had been with Xenayokoda. They had built a net work of highways for us unwittingly by having the ventilation shafts through out the base.

I caught the scent of something drifting in the air and froze.

Cigarette smoke, mingles with a scent I know better than I want to. Marker was on duty, patrolling the hall less than 100 meters from me. My adrenaline surges and my smile widens. I might not be allowed to hurt the marine but I can sure as hell give him a fright he won't soon forget.

I rush silently forward, closing the distance between us until I am only 2 and half metres away from his retreating back. I crouch low, preparing to pounce on him and then run off before he can see me. My consciousness seems to narrow down to only my heart beat, my breathing and Marker's footsteps. A nearly silent growl reaches my ears and it is a moment before I realise it is coming from me.

Then, just as I let loose my coiled muscles and pounce, I hear something, almost inaudible to my enhanced –yet still human- ears but it is enough to grab my attention and throw off my leap.

I trip over my own feet and end up sprawled on the floor, thoroughly disgusted with how my plan has ended. "Oww! What the hell was that!" I curse, forgetting for a second that Marker is so close and end up with a blinding light in my face and a laser guide between my eyes.

"Xeno? Is that you?" Comes Marker's surprised voice, followed by a chuckle at my dishevelled appearance.

"That's Captain Stormer to _you_, Private." I growl in return, dusting myself off.

"What are you doing out here? Are you the one that's supposed to be on duty tonight?"

"What are you talking about? I'm just out for a walk." I lie smoothly. I don't have any problems lying to Marker, the nosey little rat bag.

"Oh." He actually seems disappointed to hear that. "That guy that's supposed to do the night shift for this sector hasn't turned up yet." He adds.

"Not my problem." I huff and start to walk away but he grabs my arm.

"Ya know, it's not really my problem either. He'll get chewed out for it, not me, so, uh, how about we go back to my room for a bit? I got some good grog all the way from Tepian-X12…."

I want to tell him to fuck off and almost do but then I remember that stupid order.

"Fine." I grind out between my teeth.

His face lights up and I groan inwardly with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Marker leads the way, talking the whole time. I'm furious with myself for having been stupid enough to get myself in such a situation. Not only did I mess up my staking and end up looking like an idiot, it was in front of Marker and now, because of that ludicrous order,I have to spend more than a minute in his presence.

I ignore him, thinking about how much I'd like to hurt him and doing everything automatically until I realise suddenly that we are in his quarters and he is offering me a glass with a dark brown liquid in it. I take the glass and down the lot, hoping that he'll get bored and let me leave soon.

"Ah, a drinking woman then are you?" He says, refilling the glass with a grin.

"Whatever." I growl and skull that glass too. And again he refills it.

"Just slow down though or you'll make yourself sick." He says, watching me slam that one back as well while sipping from his own.

I feel the warmth of the drink spread out from my stomach and can't help but let out a little purr. My muscles relax and I start to sink down into the chair I'm sitting on, thinking that maybe this isn't so bad.

"I don't get sick." I snarl in return, my head starting to feel light. I shake it but that just makes me dizzy so I stop.

"Really. Do you get drunk?" He asked, moving closer to me.

"Of course not. _Humans_ get drunk. I'm a Xenomorph; xenos don't get drunk or sick." I say matter-of-factly, wondering why the hell he would care anyway.

Marker grins widely at me.

"I bet you loved playing Aliens and Marines when you were little." He said, stroking my knee with his hand. I look at it. What's it doing there? He should keep his hands to himself.

"I love being the xeno, creeping around…stalking the marines in the dark….then pouncing when they least expect it…"

I'm not all that sure of what I'm saying, words and thoughts are slurring together, not making much sense to me but I like the warm feeling in my stomach, all cosy and making me sleepy.

"Is that what you were doing tonight? Stalking the marine, me, in the dark?" His voice sounds amused but very far away. Marker is holding me, I think-either that or I'm flying- laying me down on something soft. Pitiful human. What does he think he's doing? "Xeno?"

"Yes…I was stalking you but I heard something…I tripped…" He's laughing softly and something is shifting around me and feel a little cold.

"The big bad Xeno tripped? Well, I guess that the Marine will just have to teach the xeno that marines are in charge."

Suddenly there is pain and I wince, my voice turning into a growl as I feel something inside me tear. The world is rocking, jarring painfully and I fade quickly into darkness.

CCCCCCCCCCCC

I wake with a start.

My head hurts.

Note to self; I can get drunk, very quickly.

I try to get up but find there is an arm around my waist. And Private Anthony Marker is attached to that arm.

BASTARD.

He got me drunk on purpose! And I was stupid enough to let him. Stupid orders.

Not wanting to wake him up and have to hear him brag, I change into my xeno form and inject him with toxins from my tail to keep him knocked out. I move away from him, my flesh crawling and my mind reeling, revolted by what must have happened. How dare this human do that to me! To _any_ female! To trick me and- and- I can't even think the disgusting and dishonourable action.

I am even angrier because I am very sore and my pride is definitely bruised as well.

I pick up my clothes and, not wanting to risk being seen by anyone else in the halls or to go back to my room just yet, make my way back to the Med Bay through the ventilation. Once there, I change back into a human and re-adorn my clothes.

Looking at the clock I see that only 2 hours have passed since I first left my room. It seems as thought I sober up quickly as well. I don't feel like sleeping, I feel…dirty. The showers won't be operational until 0900 hours so I turn on the lab computer to look for amusement. I have long since learned to operate this and have taught myself many things and I like the training games on it; my favourite is the flying module.

When I next look at the clock it is 0400 hours.

I stretch and shut down the unit down; 2 hours of playing is enough for me. I am about to leave when I hear someone approaching. Quickly, I dive for cover, sure that I'm not supposed to be in here at this time of night.

With a soft his the doors open and I hear the footsteps of two people enter.

"I still think it's ludicrous to keep these files on the same computer she uses! What if she finds them?"

I know that voice. It's Mike.

"That's why the time lock is there. She'll never come n here at this time of night and besides, why would she look at a file? She's much too interested in the training programs, our little experiment is."

Tina? Experiment? Did she just call me…

"I thought she was your little 'baby'?" Mike's voice drifted over amongst the sounds of keys tapping.

"Oh, _that_. I'm over that. I can't keep calling her a baby once she starts having babies of her own, now can I? It shouldn't be long before one of the marines takes advantage of her, especially with those new orders."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. I can't seem breath properly. I can't be hearing Mike and Tina having this discussion. "Don't look at me like that Mike, that's her purpose remember. She's more than ready."

My breath catches. My _purpose_?

"You _know_ I never liked this project. Altering Xenomorph DNA with Predator and human DNA so that it can give live birth is bad enough but breeding her with _humans_…Even the people who brought back Ripley didn't go that far and look what happened to them; all_ dead_."

"Because they were idiots!" Tina snaps. "That Queen was a complete fluke! If they'd had any sense they would had discovered the alteration and used it to their advantage. They didn't contain the xenomorphs or Ripley properly either. Besides, that was more than three centuries ago; even if Xeno did find out, what good would it do her? We have better containment chambers and she doesn't even have acidic blood to help her. We saw to that by making her so much of her DNA predator- she's practically more predator than she is xenomorph."

My world is being torn apart.

All I have ever know is being cast into doubt.

Yet still it is not over.

"I still don't think we should be breeding her with humans."

"What else is there to breed her with? You know as well as I do that all xenomorphs are female so that they can become a Queen if something happens to the Hive. We still have to figure out how to make a male one to compensate for the lack of DNA that's supposed to be taken from the host."

No _males?_ But what about Xenayokoda….?

"This is going to bite us in the ass, I know it."

"Stop being such a pessimist. If anything goes wrong, we can always make a Xeno number two."

Mikes words from two weeks back drifted in her mind; _"….__It means we don't have to try and recreate another you."_ "There, that's the new info added from the tests. I'm going to hit the sack; Xeno's due for a training run at twelve and I want some sleep before that."

Moments latter they are gone and I creep from my hiding place.

I don't know how I should feel. I am frightened, confused, sad, lonely and furious all at once. How could they look at me and tell me their lies day after day? Because I am just an experiment to them, one that they don't even think is all that intelligent either, it seems.

But for so long they fooled me. Am I really all that smart if I let this escape me this whole time, when it was right there staring me in the face?

I had thought they were my friends, that they cared. I cared for them! I would have gone to them for comfort after what Marker had done and they would have pretended to console me most likely, while really they would be happy that their _experiment_ was going so well. Was I really so damned gullible?

I realise that I had already known that they weren't honest with me, not to this extent but I had know. The tests, the training and the secrecy; I just hadn't wanted to admit it to myself, I wanted to fit in, to be loved. And they tore my heart out.

Well I'll show them!

I turn the computer back on. I'll make sure they never make another one of me, I'll mess up their precious experiments so badly, it'll take them years just to recognise which is which!

I set to work.

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It's 0800 hours now. Their files are completely ruined and what's best is that they won't realise it until it's too late. The file on me is completely obliterated. I even searched the whole data base for anything even remotely relating to my experiment. I left them a little surprise too; a lovely little bug that will stay in the system and will destroy anything that resembles a genetic experiment. I'm proud of myself for designing it.

I've already decide what I'm going to do; what I should have done weeks ago. I'm going to the Hive to get Xenayokoda and then leave like we planned.

I need a shower before then. I can still smell Marker's scent on me.

But first….

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"I tell you, that Xeno Stormer has got the best ass I've ever seen and she's the best bit of tail too!" Marker bragged to the whole mess hall.

"Come off it, Marker!" Second Lieutenant Picklals called.

"Yeah!" Charlstien the newbie echoed. "No way would a man-eater chick like Stormer sleep with a scuzz ball like you!"

"You must have been having a wet dream, Marker!" Private Axel jeered.

"I'm tell'n you, she's hot for it!" Marker retorted, trying to convince them all. "I'll bet when she walks in today she's gonna have a big grin on her face and you'll all know I've been telling you the truth."

"Sure mate!" Someone called from near the doorway.

"Keep tell'n yourself that!" Another called.

Everyone got in on the joke and shouted things out to Marker while he simply sat and seethed, his face gone red.

The mess hall fell quiet as the doors slammed open so hard that the handles rattled.

Xeno stood in the doorway, silent, still.

"Hey! Xeno!" Marker hollers across the room, a smug grin on his face. "Tell these idiots what a good ride you had last night! Tell 'em what marathon material I am!"

With slow, deliberate steps, she walked into the room, all faces turned to her.

No sound other than her footsteps could be heard.

She stopped, only a couple feet from where Marker had been crowing from the top of a table.

He jumped down to her, his face eager and obviously assuming that she was going to prove all the others wrong and confirm his story.

"Well? Go on, tell them." He prompted but then smiled. "Or do you want to show them? Go on, give us a kiss."

He leaned towards her and no one knew what happened in that instant but suddenly Marker was down on the ground, curled around himself, moaning something only slightly coherent and a the only part they could distinctly understand was the halting, pain filled words;

"…my…fucking…balls!"

Xeno's head snapped up as one of the newbies moved to help him and pinned the young man with a stare. She took a single step towards him and he stumbled backward, crashing into a table and ending up flat on his back.

And then Xeno spat on Marker, turned on her heel.

She paused only a second at the doorway, looking at each and every person present in turn and they all knew the message behind her eyes;

Do _not_ fuck with me.

And then, leaving a gapping silence in her wake, she left.

Without a single word.

End Ch 6

A/N: Who else feels really sorry for Xenayakata? I know I do and I'm the one that's writting the story. But this is just the tip of the ice burge and we're talking the ice burge that sunk the Titanic. Please review and tell me what you think! And remember all you lurkers out there; reveiw and you get a cyber cookie!


	8. Ch7:It's my yautja instict

A/N: Any character or theme or name or creature and anything else from the movies I DO NOT OWN. The plot for _this _story I do own, as well as Xenayakata and the species Xenyautan. These two are my creations and mine alone so NO TOUCHIE! If anyone rips off my character or species I will send the real Xenayakata after them and she gets cranky when people rip her off.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Thanks to all reviewers; you guys keep my spirits up and keep me writing. If any one has any ideas they would like to mention or something they would like to see happen in the story, I'm all ears!(which isn't hard to believe when you consider my char is an 8 foot fox but...eh (shrugs) ) Thanks to the lurkers too but if you review, I'll give you cyber cookies! You gotta tell me that you were a lurker as well...then again... throws millions of cyber cookies out to all the reviewers You all get cyber cookies anyway!

Chapter 7 : It's My Yautja Instinct

The Yautja known as Tee'e'ka'cha silently watched the sentries that guarded the main gates of the ooman bunker.

The yautja didn't exactly know why he was drawn to this place of oomans; it was a feeling, a sense, his instincts- and no sensible Yautja ignored his instincts.

He was more than 84 ooman years old and that was far more than enough to have been blooded and be out on his own, hunting for glory.

He would rejoin his Clan again eventually, all predators did, but for now he only wanted to collect trophies, build a name for himself and win females to continue his blood line –all the things a relatively young male could find to keep himself amused.

That is, if his instincts hadn't gone haywire and he wasn't walking into the biggest mistake of his, as of yet, relatively short life. He had originally set down on this planet to hunt the kainde amedha his ship's scanners had indicated had a nest here but had been distracted by instinct that had brought him to this place of oomans.

No, they couldn't be wrong, he trusted his instincts. Something worth while was in there, waiting for him to come and get it, even if he didn't know what 'it' was.

Activating his cloaking device, he leapt from the branches of the old dead tree which had served as his lookout with ease and moved in on the base, completely unnoticed by the guards and slipped past the meagre defences.

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I'm in. I think to myself. How easy the oomans make it for me.

I can sense my prize near by. It is so close, I can almost taste it. Something is here, just waiting for me to claim it.

Oomans are too stupid to even know that I'm here. I could gut one right now and they wouldn't even know what had happened. They're everywhere and so easily I move through them.

I smell my prize. This is strange, I shouldn't be able to _smell _it. Unless…unless it is a female that I am smelling.

But what is a female doing here?

It must have been captured by the oomans; a female would never come anywhere near an ooman base willingly while in heat. Another puzzling question; it is no where near mating season so why is this female in heat now? Perhaps her heat cycle is off and she was caught unawares by it? It would not be the first time such a thing has happened.

I move through the halls silently, following the scent of the female. I know it is a female now, a young, strong one; the blood in my veins buzzes with the knowledge, the anticipation of a fight to win a female- I can smell a male yautja.

Surely this tormentingly tantalising scent would belong to a female sort after by many males? But how was she was caught?

Female yautja, both larger and stronger than males, would be hard to fight let alone be subdued and captured, especially one in heat. Even most male yautja will not take on a female unless absolutely necessary. Only truly brave yautja will fight a female for the right to mate rather than another male. This is the only explanation I can think of; that a male has fought this female for the right to mate and then the oomans took advantage of their distraction.

Though it would take a strong male to defeat and claim her, it would have to be a stupid one as well to stay near a human base long enough to be discovered and even attacked.

I grumble a little to myself.

Female yautja are stronger than males but it is still a male's duty to protect a female which he has won and this male has obviously failed that duty. I will not only win the female from him, I think to myself, I challenge him to jehdin-jehdin and I will kill him. He is undeserving of a female if he cannot protect even himself, let alone her.

I've come to a strange room now.

The scent of the female is here, but faint.

Mist swirls in this room and I can hear the spray of water.

And soft singing.

The tune is strange, almost familiar.

I walk towards the source of the sound, my curiosity getting the better of me; I want to know what makes this noise that feels known to me. With the touch of a button on my hunting mask, my vision changes; I can see through the mist now, I can see the heat that is an ooman's body, glowing white at its heart.

It is the ooman that is singing.

I move close, intrigued by the noises this ooman can make; no yautja can make noises like this. Some sound almost like the gurgling, cooing sound a female yautja will make to her young to make them sleep but they are softer, more high-pitched and even more relaxing than those of a yautja. Others sound like the hiss of a kainde amedha and a few, though not many, are the sounds I know to be ooman song, all accompanied by the gently falling of water. The sounds are very soothing to me and I've found myself leaning back against a wall, listening to them.

The female can wait a little while, I'm thinking.

The song of this ooman takes my mind back to the time when I was only very young, a tiny pup, and my mother would sing me to sleep. I yawn a little; this song is making me tired. I will leave soon but not yet, a little while longer, listening to this ooman's song….

The singing has stoped.

The water has stopped.

The ooman is looking at me.

No, it can't be looking at me. I'm still cloaked, nothing can see me.

But it sure looks like it's looking at me.

Maybe it can see me.

Oomans have done it before and yautja have died for thinking it impossible; _I_ refuse to be so stupid. I'll have to kill it, stop it from alerting the others that I'm here. They might guess that it's the female I'm after, they might move her.

I almost unsheathe my wrist blades when the ooman looks to the left of me, then to the right and then behind it.

It doesn't see me at all. I almost sigh in relief before I realise what had made the ooman look in my direction in the first place; I had yawned a loud.

It had heard me.

And I had been stupid enough to make noise. I know as well as any yautja that being cloaked doesn't in any way hide the sounds we might make.

I want to kill the ooman now anyway. It made me forget my purpose and my mission. It made me forget all the precautions I need to keep my self alive.

I glare intently at the ooman, debating with myself the intelligence, or rather lack of, in leaving a dead body lying around ahead of schedule.

It's then that I notice something; the ooman is a female.

And in her belly beats another tiny glowing life.

She is carrying a child within her.

I forget my half-baked plans for killing the ooman.

To kill it now, knowing it is female and with child, would be to bring dishonour on myself. It is against the Code of the yautja to kill the weak and unarmed. Those that are unworthy to hunt are left unharmed unless they provoke us by attacking, and not even then if they are with child, not if we can help it.

The males of almost any kind are fair game as far as any yautja is concerned but what sport would there be if we did not leave at least some to continue the species and hunted them to extinction? As much as yautja are hunters, we respect life also and because of that it is part of our Code that females are strictly 'off' the hunting list for most species.

I will not dishonour myself because of my own stupidity.

I have no wish to become a bad blood.

I must find that female now, I think to myself. I've let myself get distracted for long enough. I turn and leave the room and the female ooman with her strange song behind.

I find the females scent again. It is stronger in the hall that leads right so I choose to follow that path. Behind me I hear the female leaving the misty room also, but her soft footfalls echo off in the other direction as they are swallowed up by the sounds of the heavier treads from other oomans.

As the scent of the female gets stronger, something about the female ooman and her song tickles at the back of my mind but I do not know what.

I push those thoughts away and concentrate on thoughts of the female yautja I will win and the male yautja I will soon face.

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I can't believe I've just come face to face with a Predator and that I let it go.

I wanted to kill it, right there but I would have to change to kill it and I can't risk someone seeing me as a Xenomorph. Not now, when I'm so close to obtaining freedom once and for all.

I must tell Mike and Tina.

As much as I despise them for what they have done, as much as they have lied to me and used me, I would not leave even them to the fleeting, if even existent, mercy of the hunter.

They must know that a Predator is loose on the base.

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This ooman base is a maze.

I have followed the scent of the female all over the base and still have not found her or the male but now the smell of the male is strong also. He knows I am here, knows that I am after his female and it angers him; I can smell it. I imagine him, probably a head strong, brainless warrior, nothing to me, the son of an Ancient Elder who is the leader of an entire Clan. Suddenly, the scent of the female grows overwhelming as I turn onto a new hall; she has past here recently, maybe only minutes ago.

And the male was with her.

I feel my anger rise up within me and my fingertips twitch at my sides; he still has the female near him.

Stupid oomans. I think to myself. They should have separated them.

If the two yautja had been contained since capture in the same area my chances were now a lot slimmer that the female hasn't been mated already. The male, especially one as cowardly and weak enough to let himself be taken alive, would not let capture get in the way of carrying on his genealogy.

But I will get in the way of it; I will not allow a weaker male than myself to continue his line instead of my own and waste the use of such a choice female.

And in any case, her scent is still pungent, she is still receptive, there is still time.

I continue down the hall, following the scent to a large door.

She is behind this door, I'm sure of it. Now I only need to get inside.

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I don't like this.

I feel a shiver go down my spine and shake it off, wondering what Tina hopes to achieve from this plan. I don't want to offer myself to this Predator, just like I didn't want to mate with the marine, Marker but Tina insist that they won't let anything happen to me, that they just want to catch the Predator.

I snort in disgust. Sure, they just want to catch it….and then do all sorts of horrid experiments and tests on it and god knows what else. I don't even know who I'd want to win this situation; do I want the Humans to get their little toy to distract them from my own escape and because I hate the Hunters or do I want to let the Hunter take make out and then let it take care of the Humans because they shouldn't be playing God like they have and probably will continue to do?

I don't even know why I agreed to help. Wait, yes, I do know.

If I just up and left, the Humans would come after me. This way, if I go missing they'll assume the Hunter got me. The only hard part is to make sure that the Hunter _doesn't_ get me.

I can sense him nearby, read some of his thoughts; he is determined to win the female he believes is here, determined to win me and mate with me. I am disgusted at the thought of it and my grey, speckled skin shivers again; this form disgusts me also.

I don't like being in this form any more than I like the species.

I am the bait, the female Predator that the intruder is looking for, was looking for when we came almost face to face and I had to let it live.

I growl under my breath and then sigh.

What am I doing here?

I miss Xenayokoda. I can not wait till I am able to reunite with him.

I stretch out on the floor, thoroughly bored with waiting. The floor is scratchy against my skin so I roll over and try to get at an itchy spot on my back that I can't reach.

The cloth of my shirt tears and I wince as the scratching becomes painful.

I growl again, louder this time, cursing the situation.

Why did I have to wear these stupid rags? They don't seem at all what a Predator might wear and they make me feel more vulnerable somehow.

I sit up, my claws scraping against the concrete floor, and I let out a yawn.

Boy, am I bored.

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There she is, right below me.

The oomans must have taken her armour, I think to myself, because she is wearing something that looks like torn ooman clothing.

I feel my anger rising again. How dare these oomans treat a member of my race like this? And where is the male? I must deal with him before I can claim the female.

I move so that I can see the entire room as the female moves about, restlessly it seems, laying down then getting back up, only to sit down again. The male is not inside but the room reeks of oomans. They will be back, I feel sure, and I want the female freed before then.

The time to act is now.

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My eyes snap open and I jump as I hear a loud 'clang' and I see a vent cover drop from the roof.

The Predator.

I can't see anything, but I smell him. I feel the air shift just next to me and I turn slowly to see him standing there. My Predator eye-sight is poor but I can still make out his form fairly clearly; I can also make out all of his weaponry. I step away from him a little, intimidated by his size even though I am a bit taller than he.

He grabs my arm roughly and out of reflex I snarl at him.

He snorts, lets go of me and then removes his mask.

I almost gag at the sight of him. I have studied vids and images of predators but it hasn't prepared me for this. His four mandibles click in an unpleasant way and I feel he is displeased with my reaction.

"Where is the other male?" He asks in Yautjaian.

I find it strange that I can understand him but I don't waste time wondering why.

"There is no other male." I reply, hoping that I'm saying it right. He seems to understand me and I give an inward sigh of relief.

"The oomans killed him?" Three guesses what an 'ooman' is?

I don't know why he thinks that there was ever another male but I decide to try and appease his interest.

"Yes, the oomans killed him."

The Predator gives another snort.

"Then we leave. I'll take you to a secure location." He looks at me now in a way I recognise; he looks at me in the same way that Marker looked at me the first time he saw me in my human form. "Then we fight."

I contain my surprise at his words. Fight? I then pick up on his thoughts and discover that Predator males must fight and defeat other males or the females themselves before they will be accepted as mates.

He obviously thinks himself a match for me, just as Marker did. I motion for him to lead the way, looking back at the vent, anything to not have to see that look. I hear him replace his mask, the slight clacking chuckle as he passes me.

He doesn't know what he's up against. He won't defeat me. I'll disgrace him and wear him out at the same time so that Mike and Tina can capture him and perform their experiments. I will owe this male nothing. He offers me a boost to get to the vent and I snarl at him, my temper at breaking point.

"I am not decrepit, male and you would do best to remember it." With these words I jump to grab hold of a pipe which is below the vent and then deftly swing myself up into the vent opening.

He is next to me in moments. "Which way?" I ask, as if I didn't already know.

"This way." He tilts his head to the right and begins to crawl away, indicating for me to follow.

We travel in silence. We reach a fork in the path and he signals for a rest. I almost choke on a scoff. The Predator, while smaller than me in this form, is bulkier and finds it difficult to move.

The rest is short and I wait for him to continue but he indicates for me to go first. I don't like this, I sense he is up to something.

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The female is stronger than I thought. She does not move lethargically as most females do when in season and her temper is still quick. I can not believe that I am so lucky to have found such a female. And the other male is dead.

This confuses me a little but perhaps the scent of anger was an old one or maybe the oomans killed him only recently. It does not matter. What matters is that he is dead, which means I am free to court her myself without worrying about other males. It is very unlikely that any other males will be in this part of the universe. But this chance is too good, this female too good to waste. If need be I will fight any that challenge me, even the female herself if I have too, if my trophies and rescuing her are not enough to impress her. Who knows? I am not too young to start collecting females.

I will do all I can to have this female.

It's my yautja Instinct.

End Ch 7

A/N: Oooo! What will happen next? You'll just have to wait and find out!. Please review and tell me what you think! And remember all you lurkers out there; review and you get a cyber cookie!


End file.
